Matchy Matchy Contest

Hello!! It’s been a while since I’ve posted last. I left you with …I’m starting an Etsy. And I did, and it’s kept me busy and away from my blog. But I miss my little blog!

Just wanted to share a my entry for the Matchy Matchy Contest happening over at Create Kids Couture’s blog.  The contest ends on the 31st, so if you want to add your own entry you better bust a move!

My Entry

 

I made three patterns for my entry, and all three came from Create Kids Couture. The dress is the Paris Party Dress, the little shrug is Valeries Shirred Bolero, and the darling little purse is FREE…and you can find the tutorial here.  These little bolero’s are just adorable, and they are perfect for this “spring” we are having!! Or lack there of. I have the bolero’s listed in my Etsy, or else you can find the pattern and make one. They are a fun little sew!

 

 

 

Starting an Etsy Boutique for Children’s Clothes

So, after a lot of thoughtful prayer and consideration, I am going to try my hand at selling some stuff on Etsy. (Not purses like I once tried..for like a day.) I’m going to put some girls clothes up for sale. I just LOVE making them. I could sew it all day and night. I bet if you asked Adam, he would say I do.  I’m going to start slow and see if it goes anywhere. So, ready for my “name”? It’s so perfect I can hardly stand it…but I didn’t come up with it. (My JM mommy friend Melissa did, and I owe her big time. She has two little boys though, so I need to figure out what I can make her for a thank you. <3) Anyway..I wanted to incorporate Grace’s name, after all…she is the inspiration for most everything I make. And it shall be… Full of Grace Boutique. I love it.  Thank you so much Melissa! I love you for it! It has a much deeper meaning to me as well, and I know Melissa knew it would.  I am continually thankful for the grace and mercy the Jesus lavishes on me daily. HE is full of grace and truth. So, I am putting this in His hands. To Him be the glory. <3

 

I’ve been working on some stuff to open the store with. So far, I have three things. haha. I’m getting there. I’d like to get at least 6 items that will be ready to ship to list. I don’t plan on doing a whole lot of “custom” work, but there will be exceptions to that obviously. I just like the idea of unique handmade quality pieces. And I will just keep sewing and keep adding to the store. If someone sees something in a size that isn’t there, and they want it..I’ll make it. Just gonna take it day by day.

I have blogged in a while, been busy with Christmas and company and of course sewing. Here is what I’ve got to post, and some of this will be going in the store. Exciting. The only thing I’d ‘like” to do before I list anything is get better pictures. Hopefully that can happen sooner than later. I wish my model would stop moving for 2 seconds. I love my clothing tags this time around, only the yellow washed out a little when I did the rinse on the tags. Need to darken that up for next time, but still cute.

Hopefully, with in a day or two, I will have my logo ready to share.

~By His Grace~

 

Little Knot Dress of Bitty Baby

Kelsey Leggings…these were way to huge though

The Whitney Skirt

The Whitney Skirt

Valentines Mash Up Dress and Rihanna Ruffled Pants

Valentines Mash Up Dress

Little Tasha Dress

Katy Dress

Katy Dress

My Tags

Why Didn’t I Know this Gathering Trick?

Okay, this is so awesome I just can’t even believe it’s true. I didn’t figure this out on my own so I’m not even going to attempt a tutorial on it.  Some brilliant lady explained this to me on a forum. And she needed to provide me pictures so I could get it through my thick skull.

I will explain how I did it, or try.

Normally when I gather fabric, which is often making dresses for Grace, I run a basting stitch and then pull my threads to get my gathers. See this tutorial that explains it perfectly. While this worked perfectly, it is very time consuming. And some of these dresses I make Grace, call for a LOT of gathering.

Okay, here is the new BRILLIANT way.

You will be sewing with a zig zag stitch. Set it on the fairly wide stitch, until you get used to this process anyway.

Take your needle thread, and instead of pulling behind your needle, like you normally would when getting ready to sew, pull towards you. Pull out enough thread that is equal to the length you will be gathering. (just eyeball it, I’ve never come up short)

Now, the hard part to explain. You will essentially be zig zagging over that thread you just pulled out. So, you will lay your thread (needle thread) down on your fabric, the fabric that will be feeding into your machine. But, you first need to pull just about an inch or so behind the needle. (it will be looped, and you can even keep the loop around your left finger to kind of hold it in place when you first start sewing.

As you zig zag over your thread, keep the thread in the middle. If you hold the thread tight while you are sewing on it, it will automatically gather the fabric behind your needle.

When you are finished,  you have all your fabric gathered all ready. Just need to adjust a little to fit whatever you are attaching to.

Another great thing about this method of gathering is you don’t break the thread. There is nothing worse than gathering 60 inches of ruffle only to snap that thread half way through and have to start over!!

So, here is a picture of my skirt I was gathering. This is RIGHT off the sewing machine.

 

So, now that you are more confused than ever…that’s it! Ha! I didn’t take any pictures while I was in the process, but if there is anyone reading this that needs pictures just shout. I can always add them.

Christmas Stockings

I’ve been busy this past week making some stockings for a friend. She is actually a really talented artist, and she is putting her talent to use making me something.  I am trading some Christmas stockings she picked out for her artistic expertise. (Will talk more about that another time. )

These stockings were a lot of fun to make. She picked out the pattern from Etsy. The pattern called for the names to be embroidered, but considering I don’t have an embroidery machine, that didn’t happen. Instead, I printed on fabric using these sheets I got from Amazon. Perfect solution, and to be honest, I think I might like it better than embroidered names. The ink is set in the fabric, so you can even wash it if needed. (although I probably wouldn’t anyway)

Here are the final stockings:

 

 

Also, if you don’t feel like buying a pattern, CreateKidsCouture is running a free tutorial and contest on their stocking pattern. I really love this stocking and it was also a lot of fun to make.

Here is the stocking I entered into the contest.

Happy stocking making…better get busy. Christmas is right around the corner!!

~Nichole

 

Mimi’s Twirl Peasant Top

Got some fabric finally that I just in love with. Pat Bravo’s lines with Art Gallery Fabrics. It reads on the selvage of their fabric “You can feel the difference” (or something of the sort) and you most certainly can. It’s amazing! And as a totally awesome bonus, two pieces of fabric (I wanted) were in the remnant box! Woohoo!!

I made Grace a shirt with fabrics from the Bohemian Soul Collection, using Mimi’s Twirl Peasant Top pattern from CKC. Love their patterns. If you haven’t bought any do, great patterns with thorough directions.

I added a ribbon trim to the shirt. Looks cute enough, have NO idea how it’ll wash. So that’ll be interesting. I did prewash my fabric though this time, but I couldn’t be bothered with washing the ribbon first. I’m too impatient. :p

Bubble Sleeve Knit Shirt

Well, this was a fun one! First time I’ve attempted “set in” sleeves. Ya know, the real kind. It went surprisingly well! Phew! I’ve been wanting a little shirt just like this for Grace, and when I found the pattern over on Etsy I was super excited. Then I realized she didn’t make the pattern for little girls. I emailed her and she was in the middle of releasing it in smaller sizes!! Woohoo!! So, finally I got around to making it, and it was a great pattern. Super easy directions. And I was nervous, being the first “shirt” I’ve ever made. I added the ruffle and button to the shirt, think it added a little flare. Ooh ooh, I also got to use my twin needle, fantastic little invention that is!!

Anyway, Miss Sicky Poo hasn’t tried it on since I’ve been finished with it, so ill have to see how it goes tomorrow.

Double Ruffle Denim ~ Princess Pants

I’ve been eyeing the adorable jeans over at Persnickety since they came out.

In love with them, I am.

But, I haven’t bought them…yet. So, today I decided to take a stab at a knock off version. So for $10 bucks, I did just that. I did these without a pattern, so they aren’t perfect, but they will certainly get the job done. I even used one of my cute little tags finally. Grace loves them, she calls them princess pants. Hence, the post title. Apparently anything with ruffles indicates princess-worthiness in her eyes. <3

Check ‘em out! They will look really cute with a lot of her new Matilda Jane shirts and tunics. And I can’t wait to pair her new Leighton Military Boots with these when they come in!! Woo-hoo!! My daughter officially dresses better than me, and I’m totally cool with that!

My little tag

So, there they are! Not bad for 10 bucks and an afternoon at the sewing machine.